Female
A gunwoman opened fire at a high school in the small Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday, killing nine people before turning the weapon on herself in one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history.Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed ten people died in total, including the shooter, who police described as a female wearing a dress with brown hair. A rare development in North American mass shootings, which are almost exclusively carried out by men.
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School
Six victims died inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Two more bodies turned up at a nearby residence linked to the attack.A ninth victim died while being rushed to the hospital. At least two others remain hospitalised with serious injuries, while up to 25 people are receiving treatment for wounds that aren’t life-threatening.
Police said they found the shooter dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted wound inside the school building. Authorities confirmed no other suspects remain at large and the public faces no further threat. The town’s small police unit arrived at the school within 2 minutes of receiving the emergency call.
“This is a small, tight-knit community with a small RCMP detachment as well, who responded in two minutes, no doubt saving lives today,” British Columbia Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger told reporters.
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Remote Town Shaken To Its Core
Tumbler Ridge sits deep in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern British Columbia, roughly 1,155 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Around 2,400 people call the snow-covered mountain town home.The school serves approximately 160 students between grades seven and twelve, catering to children aged 12 to 18. Officials shut the school for the remainder of the week and arranged counselling for affected students and staff.
British Columbia Premier David Eby struggled to find words at a press briefing Tuesday night.“It’s hard to know what to say on a night like tonight. It’s the kind of thing that feels like it happens in other places and not close to home,” Eby said.The shooting stands among the deadliest in Canadian history, a country that has long prided itself on lower rates of gun violence compared to its southern neighbour.
Among Canada’s Worst School Shootings
Canada’s deadliest mass shooting occurred in April 2020 when a 51-year-old man disguised in a police uniform killed 22 people across a 13-hour rampage through Nova Scotia before police shot him dead.
The country’s worst school shooting before Tuesday happened in December 1989, when a gunman murdered 14 female students at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique before taking his own life.
Tuesday’s attack has already drawn comparisons to mass shootings that frequently rock the United States, raising fresh questions about gun access and school safety across North America.
Canadian PM Cancels Plans, Offers Condolences
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrapped a planned announcement in Halifax on Wednesday regarding a new Defence Industrial Strategy. He also cancelled a scheduled trip to Germany for the Munich Security Conference.
Carney broke his silence on the tragedy through a post on X.“I am devastated by today’s horrific shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence,” Carney wrote.
The shooting has sent shockwaves through Canada, a nation that rarely experiences this scale of gun violence at educational institutions, forcing politicians and communities to confront questions about security, mental health, and the availability of firearms in a country that has tightened gun laws in recent years.